OCEANA COUNTY, MI – A 32-year-old Hesperia man is being sought by Oceana County Sheriff's Office officials in connection to an arson case linked to a local restaurant.

Two fires occurred earlier this year at the Hesperia House Restaurant & Lounge, 205 S. Division, said Oceana County Sheriff's Lt. Craig Mast.

Since then, a lengthy investigation has taken place and on Aug. 20 a two-felony warrant was issued and signed for the Hesperia suspect.

Both fires -- deemed suspicious in nature -- occurred on April 30 at different times on that date at the restaurant, Mast said.

An investigation into the cause of the fire involved the Oceana County Fire Investigation Team as well as insurance company investigators and experts in the field from outside agencies.

"Our team came and examined the two fire scenes and deemed them to be suspicious. Our expert requested assistance from a couple of other areas," Mast said.

"They examined the fire scene further and deemed that they could find no link between fire scenes and nothing was naturally occurring to cause the fire. They deemed them to be arson."

Fire investigators conducted a series of interviews with staff and ownership of the restaurant as part of the process, Mast said.

The Hesperia man became the prime suspect, Mast said, and the warrants were issued. The man is being charged with one count of third-degree arson, a 10-year felony; and one count of arson, preparation to burn real property, a five-year felony.

The suspect hasn't been located, Mast said, but he had initially cooperated with investigators when he had been questioned.

"In the last two weeks, that has quit," Mast said.

The suspect's name is being withheld until arraignment, Mast said. Authorities are continuing to search for the suspect, but as of Tuesday afternoon, Aug. 26, he had not yet been found.

Heather Lynn Peters covers police and fire, and writes a statewide food column, The Spunky Kitchen, for MLive Muskegon Chronicle. Email her at hpeters@mlive.com and follow her on Twitter @HLPNEWS.